Young talents impress Smeda
THEY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES Banyana preparing for Cosafa Women’s Cup in Zimbabwe.
Banyana Banyana and University of Western Cape winger Leandra Smeda says competition for places in the senior women’s national team is continuing to rise, with plenty of youngsters raising their hands for selection.
Having made her Banyana debut back in 2010, she has seen players come and go in the national set-up and believes the talent coming up at the moment will do wonders for the country in the coming years.
“We were recently in a camp in Johannesburg a couple of weeks ago. There were many young and talented players who have just been discovered. I was really impressed with what I saw. The future of women’s football in the country is looking good,” said the winger.
“They have what it takes to take the team to greater heights. I mean, our generation started by qualifying the team for the Olympics for the first time when we went to London in 2012. We did it again last year when we qualified for Rio. I believe the next Banyana generation will qualify the team for the World Cup.”
Another factor that makes Smeda believe in young players is the University Sports South Africa team that took part at the World Student Games in Taipei. The team which featured the likes of Refiloe Jane, Thembi Kgatlana and Gabriela Salgado finished in fourth place at the Games after losing a third- place play-off 5-0 to Russia.
“They did well, it’s a pity they couldn’t come back home with medals. But they beat one of the best nations, the US, on the road and for this very young squad the future looks bright.”
With the Cosafa Women’s Cup coming up next month, Smeda is excited about the competition and hopes to be in the squad that will be travelling to Zimbabwe, where they will be facing Lesotho, Namibia, and Botswana in Group C at the tournament.
“This will be my first Cosafa Cup, I missed the last tournament because of an injury. I just hope I am in the squad. I have seen our group and it looks pretty good.”